By the time you read this the world will have changed

Dec. 26th, 2016

Dec. 26th, 2016

You may or may not recall that two years ago, Naomi wrote a letter to the mayor of our town about the lack of Hanukkah decorations in the city light displays, and he wrote back to her promising to correct that. Two years later, there are still no Hanukkah decorations in the city-sponsored display, and when we were talking about this with a friend of mine, (who happens to also be the pastor of the local Presbyterian church,) she suggested that Naomi go to the public comment period at the city council meeting and make a statement.

I also read a statement from my friend the Pastor, who had planned to attend but got called away to church at the last minute. The mayor was visibly uncomfortable with the statement. I was busy watching Naomi, more than the mayor, but Andrew says that it was kind of like "Uh oh, I did promise this, I've been caught and shamed by an 8 year old and now it's public record." We were really prepared-we even brought a copy of her letter and the mayor's response, which were collected by the city clerk and entered into the record.

I have no idea if it will matter in the end, if anything will change. But my kids are learning truly how to make waves, how to hold elected officials accountable, how not to let things be if they're not right. And that's an important lesson.

I also submitted my first piece of writing for publication. We'll see where that goes...probably a dead end, but if it happens, that would be awesome.

Any 8 year old who can stand up and speak in front of the City Council deserves to go out for dinner after. We had a friend along and Andrew and I were looking at menus and catching up and so Naomi ordered a giant root beer float while we wasn't paying attention. And she enjoyed it.

Also, I put my pearls on her before we left. She came in so I could braid her hair (so glad she still lets me do that,) and I handed my pearls to her while I did it. Then I slipped them around her neck and she said "Mama, these look really special." And I told her that yes, they are special, but that night was a special night and she deserved to wear something special, and that I hoped if she wore them it would help remind her of some of her heroes like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Hillary Clinton.